WCU brings fast-rising comic Bo Burnham to campus Oct. 26

Comedian Bo Burnham will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

Burnham rose to fame in 2006 — while still in high school — after posting YouTube videos of himself in his bedroom performing autobiographical songs such as “My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay.” The videos have since had millions of views worldwide. He soon had secured a four-record deal with Comedy Central Records, releasing “Bo Burnham” in 2009, and four days after his 18th birthday became the youngest person to record a “Comedy Central Presents” special. He subsequently debuted a second Comedy Central special, “Words, Words, Words,” and with it released a companion CD/DVD.

Entertainment Weekly named Burnham one of the “12 Rising Stars of Comedy” and Variety named him one of the “10 Comics to Watch.” He has toured the nation and taken his show abroad, is developing a show with MTV, and has appeared in the films “American Virgin,” Hall Pass” and “Funny People.” Burnham lives in Massachusetts.

Last Minute Productions, a student-run organization that has provided entertainment programming to WCU students for more than 30 years, is the event sponsor. LMP strives to bring artists to campus who will have wide appeal, said Rotimi Ariyo, interim associate director for University Center programs and LMP staff adviser. “We look forward to this event and to bringing more high-caliber concerts and comedians to Western Carolina,” said Ariyo, who called Burnham an “exciting and dynamic performer.”

Tickets are now on sale and cost $15 or $20 on the day of the show (WCU students pay $10 prior to the show and $15 on the day of; IDs will be checked at the door). Tickets are available at the Bardo Arts Center box office by calling 828.227.2479 and online at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu. For more information about LMP, call 828.227.7479 or visit lmp.wcu.edu.